Rumors have abounded for years about a possible spinoff or two of the smash hit Game of Thrones. Now, it looks like those of us who have been waiting and waiting are finally in luck. HBO is officially moving forward on developing spinoffs.
Yes, that is spinoffs, plural. HBO has signed four different writers to develop spinoff projects of Game of Thrones. The four writers are Max Borenstein of Kong: Skull Island, Jane Goldman of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Brian Helgeland of Legend, and Carly Wray of Mad Men and The Leftovers. Game of Thrones showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff will have a production role in all four potential spinoffs, although they are not slated to write.
Interestingly, A Song of Ice and Fire scribe George R.R. Martin will be contributing directly to two of the four prospective spinoffs. Martin will work one-on-one with Jane Goldman and Carly Wray. Like Benioff and Weiss, he's expected to have a role of some sort on all the projects, but he will not write any episodes. THR reports that HBO has not set a schedule for the writers, and development will not be rushed. The network will make decisions as material is delivered; material will not be delivered according to network demands for progress ASAP.
News of the spinoff development comes on the heels of many months of vaguely encouraging statements from folks at HBO. Programming president Casey Bloys said last summer that a spinoff is "something I'm not opposed to," and he followed up in November with the promise that they were in "preliminary ongoing talks," among other things. Then, in December 2016, HBO CEO Richard Plepler gave a Game of Thrones interview, in which he said that they were in "very embryonic stages of other possibilities." It was beginning to feel like we were a long way off from even one spinoff getting a go-ahead from HBO; the news of four spinoffs is definitely reason to get excited, especially with big names like Dan Weiss, David Benioff, and George R.R. Martin attached.
It bodes well for the spinoffs that such seasoned writers are attached and will work with three of the folks most responsible for making Game of Thrones the cultural phenomenon that it is today. As somebody has been been waiting what feels like forever for George R.R. Martin to release the next installment in the novel saga, I'm glad that he's only working individually with two of the four writers. If he's not going to be locked in a room with his computer until he finishes Winds of Winter, I'll settle for him only working on half of the new spinoff projects.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in Game of Thrones news. We compiled an extensive (and somewhat silly) list of spinoff ideas not so long ago that's worth a look, as is our breakdown of what we know so far about Game of Thrones Season 7. Don't forget to check out our summer TV premiere schedule to discover all your viewing options now and in the coming weeks. Be sure to drop by our rundowns for cable/streaming and broadcast TV renewals and cancellations as well.
